John Adams - Vice presidency

Knowing that Washington was certain to be president, Adams believed
himself entitled to the second office as a reward for his services. But he
considered his election with only thirty-four out of sixty-nine electoral
votes to be a humiliation, for Washington had been chosen unanimously.
With some anguish of mind he swallowed his pride and took his place in the
government being formed. His eight years as vice president provided few
opportunities for executive leadership. He conscientiously carried out the
tedious duty of presiding over the Senate, in which role he broke several
tie votes in favor of the administration. Despite being consulted only
rarely on major decisions, he maintained cordial relations with the
president. But Alexander Hamilton, Washington's secretary of the
treasury, had been wary from the beginning of Adams' well-deserved
reputation for independence. After his resignation in January 1795,
Hamilton sought to continue and extend his political influence from his
New York law office. Unable to deny Adams the vice presidency, Hamilton
had succeeded in reducing his vote in the first election and then
unsuccessfully sought to replace him in Washington's second term.
By 1796, only John Adams stood in the way of Hamilton's domination
of the Federalist party, as the supporters of the administration were now
known.